Five Things We Learned from the Ravens' 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers

Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun

When the DJ at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field first queued up "Renegade" by Styx -- the go-to anthem they blare over the sound system whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers need to come up with a game-changing, momentum-swinging play on defense -- Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs ran to the front of the first row of yellow seats at the frenzied stadium and mimicked the conductor of an orchestra. Suggs loves being the center of attention, but after making a splash in his debut four weeks ago against the Houston Texans, he has mostly been caught up in the wash the past three weeks, often swimming and spinning in space, trying to find his way back to the quarterback. The fact that Suggs is on the field right now, less than seven months after partially tearing his right Achilles tendon, still amazes me. But it seems more and more likely that while he is still an All-Pro entertainer on and off the field, this season we probably aren't going to see the Terrell Suggs that terrorized quarterbacks in his previous two Pro Bowl seasons. In Sunday's 13-10 win, Suggs showed a couple of flashes of the player he once was and will likely be once again. He was one of the many Ravens players who got a good shot in on Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich, and on one fourth-quarter play he knifed into the backfield to tackle a running back for a loss. But on most plays, he was stonewalled by the mediocre Steelers offensive line. The Ravens tried to find a mismatch by flopping Suggs and fellow outside linebacker Paul Kruger -- who had another solid game, by the way -- at times, but Suggs didn't have much luck no matter which offensive tackle he was trying to run by. And the fact that he was unable to catch Leftwich, who after the game described himself as the "slowest black quarterback," on a 31-yard touchdown run that took 12 excruciatingly long seconds, says a lot about where Suggs is right now. He never quit on the play, but he simply lacked the explosion to get there. Suggs has been quiet -- by his standards -- off the field, too, since returning. And while he still jokes with his teammates and brings much-needed swagger to the defense, I get the vibe that Suggs has decided to tone down his act when the microphones and video cameras in his face until he starts to feel like himself again out on the football field. That's a bummer, but he is in a tough spot. He watched the proud Ravens defense struggle in his absence and linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb go down with major injuries. It was his plan all along to rush back and play, but there is a lot of pressure of him -- I bet he is putting more it on himself than anyone else -- to perform like the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year before the playoffs. I now will never count this guy out, but I don't know if the Suggs of old will arrive on time.

When the DJ at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field first queued up "Renegade" by Styx -- the go-to anthem they blare over the sound system whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers need to come up with a game-changing, momentum-swinging play on defense -- Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs ran to the front of the first row of yellow seats at the frenzied stadium and mimicked the conductor of an orchestra. Suggs loves being the center of attention, but after making a splash in his debut four weeks ago against the Houston Texans, he has mostly been caught up in the wash the past three weeks, often swimming and spinning in space, trying to find his way back to the quarterback. The fact that Suggs is on the field right now, less than seven months after partially tearing his right Achilles tendon, still amazes me. But it seems more and more likely that while he is still an All-Pro entertainer on and off the field, this season we probably aren't going to see the Terrell Suggs that terrorized quarterbacks in his previous two Pro Bowl seasons. In Sunday's 13-10 win, Suggs showed a couple of flashes of the player he once was and will likely be once again. He was one of the many Ravens players who got a good shot in on Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich, and on one fourth-quarter play he knifed into the backfield to tackle a running back for a loss. But on most plays, he was stonewalled by the mediocre Steelers offensive line. The Ravens tried to find a mismatch by flopping Suggs and fellow outside linebacker Paul Kruger -- who had another solid game, by the way -- at times, but Suggs didn't have much luck no matter which offensive tackle he was trying to run by. And the fact that he was unable to catch Leftwich, who after the game described himself as the "slowest black quarterback," on a 31-yard touchdown run that took 12 excruciatingly long seconds, says a lot about where Suggs is right now. He never quit on the play, but he simply lacked the explosion to get there. Suggs has been quiet -- by his standards -- off the field, too, since returning. And while he still jokes with his teammates and brings much-needed swagger to the defense, I get the vibe that Suggs has decided to tone down his act when the microphones and video cameras in his face until he starts to feel like himself again out on the football field. That's a bummer, but he is in a tough spot. He watched the proud Ravens defense struggle in his absence and linebacker Ray Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb go down with major injuries. It was his plan all along to rush back and play, but there is a lot of pressure of him -- I bet he is putting more it on himself than anyone else -- to perform like the 2011 NFL Defensive Player of the Year before the playoffs. I now will never count this guy out, but I don't know if the Suggs of old will arrive on time. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)

Ravens wide receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones, who has a thing for dancing in the end zone after touchdowns, has joked that he wants to one day be on "Dancing with the Stars." He has been putting together quite the audition tape over the past four weeks. Last week, in the blowout win over the Oakland Raiders, Jones became the first player in NFL history to record two career kickoff return touchdowns of 105 or more yards -- and he did it in a span of four games. And in the first quarter of Sunday night's 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones scored the only touchdown of the game for the Ravens, whose offense once again couldn't sustain drives away from M&T Bank Stadium. Jones fielded a punt at the Baltimore 37-yard line, ran down the left sideline before cutting across the field to the right sideline, beating overmatched Steelers punter Drew Butler to the pylon for a 63-yard return touchdown, his third of the season. After the game, when asked about Butler trying to catch him, he quipped, "People in hell have snow cones." Yeah, but they aren't around for long, just like Jones whenever he gets the ball. That's why Jones deserves to hula dance in Honolulu at season's end, although I'm sure he wouldn't mind if he had to miss the Pro Bowl to dance in the French Quarter instead. He entered Sunday night leading the NFL with three return touchdowns and also in average yards per kickoff return. Plus, Jones deserves credit for doing double duty, as he averages 37.4 yards per kickoff return and 12.1 yards per punt return after his long touchdown, putting him in the top 10 in that category, too. It's crazy to think where the Ravens would be without him -- and that another team would give up on that kind of talent, but he readily admits he had some growing up to do after being cut by the Houston Texans. His 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys was one of the pivotal plays in the game, and the Ravens might not have made it out of Heinz Field with a win if they hadn't signed him this offseason. Jones was one of a few veteran special teams players the Ravens either brought in or brought back -- I'm talking about Corey Graham, Sean Considine and Brendon Ayanbadejo -- and while they have all made an impact on what is now one of the NFL's best special teams units, Jones deserves all the attention he is getting, even if "Dancing with the Stars" hasn't come calling yet.

Ravens wide receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones, who has a thing for dancing in the end zone after touchdowns, has joked that he wants to one day be on "Dancing with the Stars." He has been putting together quite the audition tape over the past four weeks. Last week, in the blowout win over the Oakland Raiders, Jones became the first player in NFL history to record two career kickoff return touchdowns of 105 or more yards -- and he did it in a span of four games. And in the first quarter of Sunday night's 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones scored the only touchdown of the game for the Ravens, whose offense once again couldn't sustain drives away from M&T Bank Stadium. Jones fielded a punt at the Baltimore 37-yard line, ran down the left sideline before cutting across the field to the right sideline, beating overmatched Steelers punter Drew Butler to the pylon for a 63-yard return touchdown, his third of the season. After the game, when asked about Butler trying to catch him, he quipped, "People in hell have snow cones." Yeah, but they aren't around for long, just like Jones whenever he gets the ball. That's why Jones deserves to hula dance in Honolulu at season's end, although I'm sure he wouldn't mind if he had to miss the Pro Bowl to dance in the French Quarter instead. He entered Sunday night leading the NFL with three return touchdowns and also in average yards per kickoff return. Plus, Jones deserves credit for doing double duty, as he averages 37.4 yards per kickoff return and 12.1 yards per punt return after his long touchdown, putting him in the top 10 in that category, too. It's crazy to think where the Ravens would be without him -- and that another team would give up on that kind of talent, but he readily admits he had some growing up to do after being cut by the Houston Texans. His 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys was one of the pivotal plays in the game, and the Ravens might not have made it out of Heinz Field with a win if they hadn't signed him this offseason. Jones was one of a few veteran special teams players the Ravens either brought in or brought back -- I'm talking about Corey Graham, Sean Considine and Brendon Ayanbadejo -- and while they have all made an impact on what is now one of the NFL's best special teams units, Jones deserves all the attention he is getting, even if "Dancing with the Stars" hasn't come calling yet. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)